Adams Plus Foster
by eastwoodstories
Summary: What happens when Lena Adams and Stef Foster fall in love? Lena has two teenage twin boys to consider. Stef has a teenage brother to consider. Will it last? Will the three boys get along? Follow the journey.
1. The Introduction

**A/n: Adams Plus Foster**

I had a dream about this, so don't judge it please.

Lena has two teenage twin sons, Joshua Adams-Hudson and Matthew Adams-Hudson (17) from a previous relationship with another woman. Stef Foster comes into picture and chaos may ensue. Stef is also raising her younger brother, David Foster (17) after their parents died in a car crash right after Stef got out of the academy.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the original characters and the storyline.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Introduction**

Stef was sitting in her car with pizza sitting in the passenger's seat. She's biting her lip and nervously shaking. She fell head over heels in love with a woman who has two teenage twin boys. She's never _done_ kids before, so this should be interesting, especially when she had her baby brother to take into consideration. She watched as two teenage boys get out of a car and go inside. The one getting out of the driver's seat wearing an Anchor Beach letterman jacket, that's Matthew, he plays football and baseball, and is the best Anchor Beach has to offer athletically. He's funny, smart, and extremely outgoing. The one getting out of the passenger's seat is Joshua, he's a part of the STEM program at Anchor Beach. He's quiet, extremely smart, and socially awkward. The twins are best friends; Matthew and Joshua have been through enough together to always stick by each other. Their mothers' split really took an emotional toll on both of them and Stef knew that, so she knew that she had to make a good first impression.

She watched as Lena pulled into next to the car that the two teenagers got out of and immediately got out to greet you, "Hi honey," she said.

Stef got out of the car still in uniform and embraced her girlfriend, "Hi love." She said. "I brought pizza."

"Oh, you trying to win my boys over?" Lena asked before kissing Stef.

"I mean, I guess." The police officer said with a shrug. "I want them to like me."

"They'll like you, don't worry." The vice principal said. "They maybe protective, but they'll love you. It may take Matt a minute to get used to you, but that's only because he saw how bad Katie and my divorce was more than Josh. He's been protective of me ever since."

"I can respect that," Stef said wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "Shall we get in there?"

"We shall." Lena said leading her girlfriend in. "I'm actually excited for you to meet my kids."

"I'm excited to meet them." Stef said. "You've talked so well about them." Lena abruptly stopped at the door and turned to Stef who had pizza boxes in her hands and kissed her, "Wha- what was that for?" Stef asked.

"Just because." Lena said as she opened the door, "Here we go."

"Mama is that you?" A voice called from upstairs.

"Yes, Stef is here with dinner, so please come down." Lena called back up. Stef heard the boy roll out of bed and come jogging down the stairs, he had curls as wild as Lena's, it made the police officer smile. "Stef honey, this is Matt. Matt baby, this is Stef."

Matt stuck his hand out and shook her hand, "Nice to meet you." He said. "Pizza?" He asked.

Stef nodded as Lena asked, "Where's Josh?"

"I think he's down coding something in the basement. He was really quiet on the way home from school today." Matt said. "I think he and our mom got into a heated discussion last night after the weekly dinner and he's a little put off with it all."

Lena sighed, "Okay, can you go get him while Stef and I get everything ready for dinner?" She asked.

"Of course, Mama." He said kissing her cheek.

The boy goes off to go get his brother as Lena sighed, Stef wraps her free arm around her, "Everything okay, babe?" The police officer asked.

"Sorry, Katie doesn't cater to the fact that Josh is a little more sensitive than Matt is, and it bothers me." Lena answered leaning back into her girlfriend's embrace. "But, c'mon, the kitchen is this way."

Lena led Stef into the kitchen as Matt comes up the stairs, "He's saving his project on his computer and then he'll be up." The boy said as footsteps were heard coming up the stairs.

The boy emerging from the stairway had curls not as wild as his brother's and mama's, but still wild enough. Big glasses perched on his nose and he didn't have as much muscle as his twin, but when Stef saw Lena go and hug him tight and kiss the top of his head and the boy melted into his mama's embrace. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded as she kissed the top of his head again.

"So, Josh, this is Stef. Stef this is Josh." Lena said.

"It's nice to meet you, Stef." Josh said reaching his hand out for Stef to shake.

Stef shook the boy's hand, "It's nice to meet you too, Josh." She said. "I brought pizza."

Josh's face lit up a little, "Awesome." He said as the four sat down around the kitchen table.

It was quiet at first, everyone enjoying the pizza, and then Matt started speaking, "So, how'd you two meet?" He asked.

The couple chuckled, "She was enrolling her brother at Anchor Beach," Lena said.

"You're brother goes to Anchor Beach?" Matt asked.

Stef nodded, "He's a senior." She said. "You two probably know him, David Foster?"

Both boys who were drinking water spit out some of the water in their cups, "Really?" They both asked at the same time.

"Ye-yes." Stef answered hesitantly.

"He just seems really standoff-ish." Matt said. "I've tried holding conversations with him, but he never seems to want to talk."

"He's been through a lot," Stef said. "Our parents died in a car accident right after I got done with the academy. I think part of him doesn't want to get close to anybody. He's really into his art. He draws comic book like stuff. He's a good kid."

"I mean," Matt said, "I'd love to get to know him outside of school. He seems really cool."

"Maybe I can bring him around occasionally," she suggested looking at Lena who nodded her head.

"I'd love to get to know him too," Lena said. "All his teachers say that he's really smart and in one on one interactions that they've had with him that he's really funny."

"He _is_ really smart," Josh confirmed. "He's my chemistry lab partner. He doesn't mess around, which is what I like about him."

"Well, it's your weekend with them, right?" Stef asked Lena who nodded. "Maybe I can bring him around tomorrow?"

"That sounds good." Lena said kissing Stef's cheek and staring lovingly at the police officer.

What neither one of the women saw was the smiles on the boys' faces as they watched their mama fall in love again.

* * *

Stef got back home several hours later to see her brother asleep on the couch watching the news, there was a sketchbook open on the table and the police officer tried to take a peek of what he was working on because he never shows her anything, "Don't even think about it," he mumbled.

"You didn't have to wait up for me, y'know." Stef said falling on the couch next to her brother as he reached over to shut his sketchbook before curling into his big sister.

"I wasn't waiting up for you." He said. "I just fell asleep on the couch after dinner."

"What time did you have dinner?" Stef asked.

"About six o'clock." He said.

"You've been sleeping a lot more lately, is everything okay?" She asked wrapping a strong arm around him.

He nodded and yawned, "I'm alright." He said. "Just been really tired."

Stef nodded and let it go, "Are you doing anything tomorrow?" She asked.

"No, why?" He asked.

"Lena and her kids want to hang out and thought that maybe we could all hang out together." Stef suggested.

"I mean, yeah sure." He said. "Josh is really cool and it'd be cool to get to know Matt more. And I guess it'd be pretty cool to see Principal Adams outside of her usual element."

"Yeah?" Stef said kissing the top of his head.

"Mmmhmm." David said, falling back asleep.

Stef held her brother close as he fell back asleep. She loved these moments with him, where she could hold him and not worry about anything.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lena was worried about Josh, after Stef had left, he retreated back down to the basement where he had all his computer stuff and his bed. It claimed the basement as his bedroom right after Katie had left and this was where he'd go to recharge.

Lena had knocked on the door and heard a muffled, 'come in,' and she opened the door and started walking down the stairs, "Hey baby." She said.

"Oh hi, Mama." He said looking over his shoulder at his desk. "What's up?"

"Are you okay?" Lena asked. "You've been really quiet tonight."

"I'm usually quiet," he said turning back to his computer.

"Quieter than usual." Lena said placing her hands on his shoulders beginning to gently massage them.

Josh sighed, "Mom and I got into an argument last night." He said.

"About what?" Lena asked.

"I applied for MIT with Stanford as my backup." He said. "She's mad because that Stanford is where she went for undergrad all the way through med school, it's my backup school."

"Well, you know how your mom is," Lena said. "She was in school for a long time and the idea of either one of her kids going where she spent so much time makes her happy."

"It's just- I just- I wanna go to MIT and I know it's far away and costs a lot of money, I could get a scholarship, but I want to go." He said. "But at the same time, I want to make Mom happy, but I don't know what to do."

"Ultimately, your mom just wants you happy, okay?" Lena said. "So do what makes you happy and if your mom gives you a hard time about that, I'll deal with it."

"Okay," he said as Lena kissed the top of his head.

"Soo," Lena said changing the subject, "what are you coding now?"

"My senior project," he said. "Basically designing an airplane."

Lena smiled, this son was into aeronautics while her other son was into sports, she loved how polar opposite they are, but how much they loved each other and protected each other.

"Tell me more about it." She said with a smile.

* * *

Stef and David were driving to the Adams residence in somewhat of a silence. They had the Padres game playing in the background, they both commented on it every once and awhile. As they pulled into Lena's neighborhood, David got really quiet. He was nervous. He didn't have a lot of friends because he stuck to himself at school. Most people mistakenly labeled him as the stoner kid, but he wanted to have at least a few friends. They still had a huge chunk left of their senior year left and he was tired of being friendless. It was a part of the reason why Stef enrolled him into Anchor Beach. To see if he could make some solid friends because at his last school, he was bullied a lot and it took a toll on him.

His knees were bouncing up and down and Stef could tell he was nervous, "Hey," she said as she parked in front of Lena's house. "Look at me." His eyes were glued to the windshield. "David, buddy," she said firmly. "Look at me." He then looked at his sister and she saw the fear and nervousness in his eyes, "Just be yourself and they'll love you. Josh already practically adores you and Matt and Lena really want to get to know you better. Nothing you can do will make them think less of you, okay?"

He nodded, "Okay, thanks Stef." He said. "You always know how to make me feel better."

Stef nodded and leaned over to kiss his forehead, "Of course babe." She said. "Now, let's go."

The siblings got out of the car and walked up to the front door, knocking on it, and Lena answered it, "Hi baby," she said greeting Stef with a kiss, pulling back she said, "Hi David."

"Hi Principal Adams," he said.

"Oh please, call me Lena." She said spreading her arms out for a small hug. He gave Lena a hug before she invited them in, "Boys! Stef and David are here."

Josh came into the living room first, "Hi Stef." He said hugging her.

"Hi Josh," she said hugging him back.

"Hi David," Josh said giving him a high five.

"Hi Josh," David said returning the high five.

Matt came in with his mouth half full of a cookie he was eating, "Hey Stef." He said spreading his arms out for a hug.

Stef chuckled, "Hey Matt," she said in the hug.

Matt then turned to David and spread his arms out for a hug, "Hey David," he said then turning his hug into a fist bump remembering that he heard something about David not liking hugs. "It's nice to see you."

David gratefully returned the fist bump, "Hi Matt." He said softly. "It's nice to see you too."

Stef's eyes wandered back to the tv where the Padres game that they were listening to in the car was on, "You're a Padres fan?" She asked Matt.

He nodded, "That I am," he said. "You?"

The siblings chuckled, "The hugest of Padres fans." Stef said.

"Well, I know these two," he gestured to his twin and mama, "know nothing about baseball, but we can watch it."

"I mean, if that's okay," the Foster siblings said at the same time.

"Of course," Lena said.

They all went to sit down in the living room, the twins sat in both of the recliners in the room and the couple immediately cuddled on the loveseat, leaving David to sit alone on the couch. As they watched the game, David's eyes would travel to where his sister and principal were cuddling on the couch. He smiled as he watched them. He never thought he'd see the day where his sister was genuinely happy and he's glad that he was wrong because even though it was with his principal, he couldn't ask for anyone better for his sister.

* * *

Later that evening, David was passed out on the couch. Lena saw him and placed the throw blanket that usually sits on the back on the couch over him. Stef came in and saw what her girlfriend was doing, "Oh thanks love," she said looking at her brother who passed out on the couch.

Lena shrugged, "He looked a little cold." She said.

"He's been sleeping a lot lately." Stef said coming and wrapping her arms around his girlfriend. "I'm a little worried."

"Like you said last night, he's been through a lot. I wouldn't worry too much about it." Lena said. "If it gets worse, then I'll be here to help you through, okay?"

Lena turned in Stef's embrace and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck, the police officer stared into the principal's eyes, and she whispered for the first time, "I love you, Lena Adams."

The curly haired woman's face lit up and she whispered back, "I love you too, Stef Foster."

The couple stood there making out for a moment before pulling back and Lena rested her face into Stef's shoulder. The police officer swayed them back and forth softly. She looked at her brother who was dead asleep to the world and finally felt at peace knowing that she didn't have to take care of him by herself anymore that the woman in her arms right now was falling in love with the teenager and she wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

 **A/n:** Chap 2 will dive more into the OCs personalities and mannerisms and whatnot. Hope you stick around.


	2. Life Day By Day

**A/n:** Again, my dream, so the dynamics are different. The Adams Foster kids _do_ exist in this alternate universe, but not as kids. More as adults _with_ kids and their all still siblings, just different moms, so sorry Brallie fans, that isn't in here. I hope this doesn't deter you and you stick around.

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Life Day By Day**

Lena was walking around campus during the upperclassmen lunch period, she saw Matt having lunch with the football team and Josh having lunch with the STEM team. She then saw something she usually overlooked until she met the boy outside of campus, she saw David sitting at a table in the corner by himself with his headphones on, his lunch to the side, and his sketchbook in front of him. She knew the boy liked to be left alone, but she hated the thought of her girlfriend's kid brother sitting by himself. So she walked over there.

"Hey David," she said. He didn't hear her, mixture of the headphones and his concentration on his sketch book, she tried again, "Hey David." She said placing her hand on his shoulder.

He jumped a little before taking off his headphones and quickly shutting his sketchbook before looking up, "Oh hi Principal Adams." He said.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She said. "What were you drawing?"

"Nothing really," he said, making Lena raise her eyebrows in suspicion. He scratched his head, "I don't like showing people my work." He said. "Stef will even tell you that. I promise it's appropriate for school, it's just-"

"I understand buddy." Lena said nodding her head. "If you ever do want to show anybody, I'd love to see it. Maybe you can do something with it for you senior project."

David scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Look, I know I haven't chosen anything yet, but I have until midterms, right?" He said.

Lena chuckled, she had been on him for a long while to get a senior project started, "Yes, you do." She said. "Don't wait until the last second though."

"I won't," he said as Lena sat down. "Uhh, don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing?"

"I don't like the idea of you sitting here by yourself and since I know you won't go and make friends for yourself, I'm sitting here with you." She said.

"You don't have to do that," he said softly.

"I know, but I want to." She said.

Silence fell over the two, David was starting to feel oddly safe with Lena's presence around, something that he never felt with any of Stef's girlfriends. He swallowed and then said, "I was thinking-" he stopped. "Never mind."

Lena tilted her head softly, "What were you thinking, buddy?" She asked.

He sighed, "I usually draw comics about everyday life and I was thinking about, for my senior project, to uhh-" he stopped for a second. "Draw about the daily life at Anchor Beach."

Lena smiled, "You do know that means, you'd have to show other people your drawings." She said.

"I know," he said. "I don't like showing people because Stef makes a big deal out of it. Like I'm some great artist or something."

"She's proud of you, y'know." Lena said. "When I told her about Matt and Josh, she started talking about you. She loves you and just wants the best for you."

He nodded, "I, uhh, I started something if you don't mind me showing you." He said grabbing his sketchbook.

Lena's face lit up, "Yes," she said. "Of course."

* * *

"He showed you some of his drawings?" Stef asked over the phone that evening.

 _"Yeah," Lena said. "And he's REALLY good, Stef."_

"He stopped showing me them a few years ago." Stef said. "You must be super special, babe."

 _"I mean, I just sat down with him." She said. "I knew he wasn't going to go make friends."_

"It's his social anxiety." Stef said. "He likes to be by himself."

 _"I know, but it's hard for me to see him like that, you know?" Lena said._

"I know," Stef said going to the doorway of her brother's room watching him sleep.

 _"You okay?" Lena asked. "You sound distant."_

"I'm worried about him." Stef whispered. "He gets up, goes to school, comes home, does his homework, draws for a little while, and then goes to bed."

 _"I'm sure he's okay," Lena said. "How long has he been like this?"_

"For about six months now," Stef said.

 _"He sounds depressed." Lena said._

"Yeah," Stef said distantly.

 _"I'll try to talk to him tomorrow at lunch, okay?" Lena said._

"Thanks love." Stef said.

 _"I'm here to help, truly." Lena said. "I'm pretty fond of that brother of yours."_

"Yeah, me too." Stef said watching her brother sleep.

* * *

Josh was sitting in his room coding something on his computer. When he heard someone come down the stairs, he looked over his shoulder to see his twin coming down and falling on the couch next to the desk. Josh chuckled and looked back at his computer, "Everything okay?" He asked not looking at his twin.

"Ugh," is all Matt got out.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked still looking at his computer.

"Mom found out about Stef." He said making Josh's head shoot in his direction. The twins tried to keep their moms' out of each other's love lives because at first it really hurt Lena to hear that Katie was sleeping around with other women and she hadn't been ready to move on. After the divorce and before Stef, Lena had one relationship with a woman named Gretchen and it didn't end very well. Both Matt and Josh are pretty protective of their mama, but they also didn't let their mom know that their mama was dating Stef Foster.

"H-h-how?" Josh got out.

"I'm not sure," Matt said, "but she came to the door and demanded to talk to Mama and they're arguing upstairs."

Josh sighed and rubbed his face, "That might not end well." He said.

"Part of the reason why I came down here," he said, "I feel like getting in the middle of all of that is a bad idea."

"Yeah," Josh said. "Sorry I won't be much company."

"It's cool," Matt said. "Whatcha working on?"

"My senior project." The brother said.

"Oh cool," he said as footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. The boys look up to see their mom, Doctor Katie Hudson coming down to see them, they boys both softly sighed. "Hi Mom," Matt said.

"Hi Matty," she said kissing the top of his head. "Joshy." She said.

"Hi Mom," he said not looking up from his computer. "What's up?"

"Yeah," Matt said softly, "it's rare that you just randomly show up."

"Figured we all could have one big family dinner. Us and your mama. We haven't done that in awhile." She said. "I brought some Thai food."

The twins looked at each other, they didn't necessarily want to be trapped at a dinner with their two moms _knowing_ that their mom just found out about Stef, but Josh nodded his head at Matt basically saying that they'll make it through together, "I mean, I guess we shouldn't let perfectly good Thai food go to waste," the boy at the computer said.

* * *

David came tumbling out of his room, seeing Stef watching tv on the couch, he falls down next to his sister, "Hey sleepyhead." She said as he curled into her.

"Hey," he mumbled as she wrapped a tight arm around her. "Not sure why I'm sleeping so much."

She kissed the top of his head and asked, "You feeling okay, love?"

"Not really, like not that I'm physically sick, but I'm tired all the time." He said. "Not sure how I make it through the school day without falling asleep."

Stef made an affirmative sound while running her fingers through his hair, "Speaking of school, Lena told me that you showed her some of your artwork at lunch today," she said.

He sighed, "Yeah." He said. "I want to do something for my senior project with it. Needed to get her approval." He said.

"You've never showed anyone your work." She said.

"To be fair, I've never felt as safe as I do with Lena with any of your other girlfriends." He said. "I dunno, like, I know I don't show you any of my work until it's done or at all, but I have this really cool idea about the day in the life at Anchor Beach and she thought it was cool too."

"You feel safe with Lena?" Stef asked.

He nodded into her chest, "Really safe." He said.

"So, you like her?" Stef asked softly.

"Yeah," he said. "I do."

Stef kissed his head as he buried his face into her chest, "I love you, bub." She said.

"I love you too, sissy." He said.

"We'll get you the help you need on a mental health level," Stef said.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

"Of course," Stef said kissing the top of his head, holding him close.

What Stef couldn't see is the tears welling up in her little brother's eyes. He was tired of feeling like he was drowning with no one seeing that he was.

* * *

The next day, Lena found David once again sitting alone, eating lunch, drawing, and listening to music. She walked over and sat with him again, she could tell that he was more subdued than normal. He didn't even notice her presence for a solid five minutes, "Oh hi, Principal Adams." He said. "Sorry, I'm a little out of it today."

She tilted her head, "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm not even sure," he said, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Hey," Lena gently placed her hand on his. "It's okay."

"I don't even know why I'm crying." He said tears now streaming down his face.

"It's okay, sweetheart." Lena said. "Do you wanna head to my office to pull yourself together?" He nodded. "Okay, c'mon." Lena helped him pack up his things and guided him to her office, luckily no one saw the incident. When they get in the office, she leads him to the couch and he sits there in the fetal position. The principal sat next to him rubbed his back softly. "Do you want me to call Stef?" He shook his head. "Okay." He wiped his eyes and sat up and leaned back into the couch.

"I'm sorry," he got out after awhile.

"Don't apologize," Lena said. "We all have our off days."

"It feels like an offseason to me." He said.

"We have all of those too." She assured.

Silence filled the room, Lena was still softly rubbing his back, scratching it every once and while like she would for Josh and Matt. She started feeling protective of the young man sitting right next to her. It was an unique situation, Lena had kids, Stef had a brother. There was no manual on how to go about this. Lena felt herself getting attached to David as much as she knew Stef was getting attached to both of her boys. However, she didn't know how David felt about her. He always seemed cool and aloof around her, almost like he wasn't wanting to get attached.

She sat with him until the end of lunch and when he left to go to his after lunch classes, Lena saw something different in David Foster, but she didn't know what it was.

* * *

That night, Stef and David were over at the Adams residence. Well, _David_ was, Stef was supposed to meet him there. Matt and Josh were at Katie's for dinner. David didn't mind though, he knew that Stef gets caught up at work sometimes, and he kind of wanted to spend some one-on-one time with Lena, especially after how she took care of him at lunch that day. He had been preparing almost like a mini speech in his head about how safe she made him feel. He was washing dishes as she was drying them.

"Thanks for your help with clean up," Lena said. "I'm not sure what happened to Stef, she said she was coming."

"She always gets caught up at work, I've gotten used to meals alone because of it." He said.

"Well, know that you're always welcomed here." Lena said. "I don't want you to eat alone if you don't have to."

"Thanks Lena." He said. "I'll definitely take you up on that." Silence filled the room. David took this as the opportunity to begin his mini speech. "Hey Lena?"

"Yeah, hun?" Lena said drying a pan.

"I just want to say thank you for earlier," he said. "I can't imagine what you were feeling having to deal with me like that."

Lena shrugged, "My boys deal with a small form of anxiety themselves. I couldn't leave you alone in that state." She said.

He took a deep breath, "I also want you to know that I feel _really_ safe with you." He began making her look up at him. "I know I get really quiet and I know that worries, Stef and maybe it worries you and for that I'm sorry. I haven't felt safe outside of my sister since before our parents died." Lena stopped drying to give the boy her undivided attention. "Then lately, I've been feeling really safe with you. I let you see my unfinished drawings which isn't something I let Stef do. I let you watch me breakdown which is only something I let Stef do. I feel like I can let my guard down a lot with you. Somehow in this process of you and my sister dating, I feel like I gained another big sister. And, at first, I didn't want to get close to you because you're my principal, but I find the more I do, the safer I feel."

Lena's eyes were full of unshed tears as she embraced the boy in front of her. She would ignore the fact that she is old enough to be his mom, but she loved the fact that he felt so safe with her, "Thank you for sharing that with me, honey. I really appreciate it." She said.

And as he embraced her back what the two of them didn't know is that Stef was standing on the other side of the wall, slightly crying herself, as she finally knew that she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the woman that her brother felt safe with.

* * *

A few days later, Matt was sitting on the front steps of the house with his face in his hands. He had a pretty bad day and all he wanted was his mama. He had been dating this girl for over a year now and ever since both Lena and Katie have been pretty open about being a sex positive house in both houses with both boys. And today, Matt's girlfriend, Rachel told him that she _might_ be pregnant.

Lena sees Matt with his head in his hands as she gets out of her car and then walks up to him, "Hi baby," she said. "What's wrong?" He looks up with tears in his eyes and Lena was immediately by his side, it wasn't often that Matt sat out on the front porch crying, but when he did, Lena knew to just take him in her arms and hold him, "What's wrong baby?"

"I feel like I keep screwing up," he said.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked.

He took a deep breath, "Rachel might be pregnant." He said.

Lena took a deep breath, "Okay," she said. "Did you not use a condom?"

"We _did_ ," he said. "Always."

"Then how _might_ she be pregnant?" Lena asked.

"I don't know!" He said standing up. "That's why I'm so confused."

"Okay," Lena said softly. "Come back and sit down. It's okay. Sometimes condoms fail and you did say she _might_ be pregnant. We'll just have to have everyone come over so we can talk about this, okay?"

"Mom's gonna kill me," he said.

Lena pulls him into her side, "Don't worry honey. I'll handle your mom, okay?" She soothed.

"Why are you so calm about this?" She asked.

Lena shrugged, "There's nothing getting angry about that will fix this situation." She said. "And, I love you."

"I love you too, Mama." He said.

* * *

"I can't even believe that you would put you and Rachel in this situation!" Katie yelled after he told her what was going on with Lena at his side. "How could you be so careless?"

"Katie, calm down," Lena said softly.

"Calm down?" She said incredulously. "Our son might be becoming a father and _you're_ telling me to calm down?"

"Freaking out isn't going to solve anything." Lena said. "Rachel and her parents are on their way over to talk about all of this."

Katie takes a deep breath and runs a rough hand over her face, "I can't even believe that we have to have this conversation." She mumbled.

There was silence between the three of them as Josh walked up from the basement, "I don't wanna know what's going on here." He said. "I'm going to hang out with David and Stef."

Lena's face lit up at the mention of her girlfriend and her girlfriend's brother, "Okay, going to do anything fun?" She asked.

"Uhh, I'm taking Matt's ticket and we're going to the Padres game." He said.

Katie squinted at him, "But, you hate baseball." She said.

"I don't hate baseball, I just don't understand it and Stef and David are good at explaining it." Josh said as he pulls out his phone to see a text. "David's here to pick me up. I won't be late, I promise."

"Okay love," Lena said. "Have fun!"

As Josh left the room, Matt's face was in his hands not paying any attention, "Why is he hanging solo with your girlfriend and her kid?" Katie asked.

"Well, first of all, it's her brother and second of all, because I want them to get to know Stef as much as you had the twins get to know Olivia." Lena defended.

" _After_ we got engaged," Katie said.

"Stef and I have been together for six months now, calm down." Lena said.

The doorbell rang and Matt got up, "Can you two stop arguing for about two point five seconds please?" He said as he want to get the door.

* * *

David pulled up to Stef's precinct and parked the car, "So, we're meeting Stef here?" Josh asked.

He nodded, "Our parents may have left us a chunk of money upon their deaths, but doesn't mean _I_ want to pay for parking at Petco Park." He said through a chuckle.

Josh chuckled, "Well, alright." He said. "Thanks for being so willing to take the other twin."

"Dude, of course." He said. "Hope everything with Matt works out though."

"Me too," Josh said as they got out and walked into the precinct.

"Well hello, David," the receptionist greeted him. "And David's friend."

"Josh," the boy said.

"Josh," the receptionist corrected. "Your sister is at her desk."

"Awesome," David said. "Thanks Janice!"

"Of course, David." She said. "It was nice meeting you Josh."

"You too." He said.

The two boys walked through the precinct, "Hey Captain," Josh said to Roberts.

"Hi David," she said. "How are you? Stef says you're going to the Padres game?"

"I'm good, yeah, we are. Taking Josh with us," he said gesturing the boy beside him.

"Josh?" Stef said coming into the conversation. "Everything okay with Matt?"

"Wow, okay." Josh said kind of hurt.

"No, no, honey, I'm sorry." She said. "I just wasn't expecting you."

"Something came up with Matt," David said wrapping a friendly arm around the boy. "So, I figured it'd be cool to hang out with Josh."

"Of course," Stef said as David unwrapped his arm and Stef grabbed Josh's face gently as David started talking with the captain and some of her other coworkers. "I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Josh had tears in his eyes as he tried to look away, "Hey, I just was surprised because you didn't seem to take an interest when I asked if you wanted to go."

Stef wiped the tears from his eyes and pulled him in for a long hug and for the first time in awhile, Josh felt safe.

* * *

"Okay well, we know that sometimes condoms fail to work," Rachel's mom Callie said. "And it's fine. We just need to talk this out like adults."

"I can't even believe that we're having this conversation right now," Rachel's dad, Tommy, said.

"Right?" Katie muttered.

"Okay," Lena said, calmly. "It would be helpful if we all got on the same page."

"I agree," Callie said. "So, we don't even know if she _is_ pregnant."

"Bring her by my office tomorrow," Katie said. "We can run some tests."

"I guess, it helps that you're already our family doctor." Tommy said.

"I guess," Katie muttered.

"So," Matt cut in, "we've made some decisions."

"Yeah," Rachel said, "starting with, _if_ I am pregnant, we are keeping the baby and raising him or her. And we don't expect you four to be on board."

"Yeah," Matt said, "I'll pick up some extra hours at work, maybe even get a second job."

"We both will still stay on top of school and graduate in June." Rachel said.

"And if you're not?" Katie asked.

"Then life will still go on as planned," Matt said like it was the most obvious thing in the world _because it was._

"Sounds like the two of you have been doing some serious talking," Lena said.

"We're both ready to own up to our mistakes, Principal Adams." Rachel said. "We both know that there are consequences for our actions."

"And we're willing to take them," Matt said.

"And for whatever reason, you are pregnant and the two of you don't work out?" Callie asked.

"I think we're both familiar with the shared custody role pretty well, Guidance Counselor Sawyer," Matt said staring between his moms before looking at Callie.

"But, until we know for sure," Rachel said, "it would be great, if we all got along."

The two teenager looked between their respective divorced parents and made their point clear. It was going to be a long road for the two teenagers, but while both sets of their parents were divorced they knew how to handle this very unique situation without any help. They were willing to take life day by day.

* * *

 **A/n:** It's going to be one wild ride. Stay tuned.


	3. Second Chances

**Chapter Three: Second Chances**

"Not pregnant," Matt whispered back to Rachel after she got her test results back.

"Oh, thank god," Rachel said back. "I _definitely_ couldn't be a mother right now."

"I _definitely_ couldn't be a father right now," Matt said back.

They were sitting in the waiting room of Katie's practice. They had just gotten the news that Rachel wasn't pregnant and were sitting their taking a moment to talk. All four of the parents were delighted to hear the news as well.

"This doesn't change _us,_ does it?" Rachel asked.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"Like, are we still together?" Rachel asked.

Matt surprised by this, "Of course we are," he said. "Why would that change?"

"I don't know," she said, crying for the first time.

Matt, who was sitting across from her, moved next to her and pulled her in closer, "I'm not going anywhere, babe. I'm right here." He said. He kissed her forehead and held her close for a minute. "I love you."

"I love you too," she got out between tears.

* * *

Stef walked into the apartment and saw that David was home in his room with the door shut, she heard music playing from underneath the door.

She loved her baby brother so much and she knew that he was struggling, their parents had died so suddenly and she knows that she hasn't yet grieved properly and she knows that her brother hasn't either. It had been ten years since their parents passed, but the two siblings were the best at hiding hard emotions. The two of them were so similar and she just wants to get inside of his head, but she also knew how he would shut down. She was at a loss of what to do. She wanted to give the boy space, but she wanted to also scoop him up and hold him close all the time. With all the crime she saw as a police officer, she didn't want her baby brother to ever experience that.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a knock at the door, Stef confused walked over to open it, surprised to see Lena standing there with takeout, "Hi honey," the police officer said. "What a surprise."

"My boys are with their mom tonight, so I thought I'd be here with Chinese food." Lena said. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Stef said taking a step back as Lena walked through the door, kissing the blonde as she passed.

"Where's David?" Lena asked.

"In his room, doing homework, I think." Stef said. "I'm not actually sure, just got home myself."

"Oh great," Lena said. "Can you get him? Food's better when it's hot."

Stef leaned over and kissed Lena again, "Of course, love." She said. "Thank you for this, by the way. Means a lot."

"Of course, honey." Lena said. "Anything to help."

Stef went to get David, she knocked on his door, "David, honey?" She called out. She heard some sort of muffled voice. She opened the door slowly to see her brother, face-first in his pillow. "What's wrong?" Stef asked, concerned.

"Nothing," David said muffled into his pillow.

Stef sat down next to him, rubbing his back, "Are you sure?" She asked.

David flipped over, "I'm just- just tired." He said. "I have no energy to do anything tonight."

Stef laid next to him, causing the boy to curl into her, "Yeah?" She asked, causing him to nod. "Any particular reason why?"

David got quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind, "I miss Mom and Dad," he finally said. "Does it ever get easier?" He asked.

"I mean, not _easier_ , but you learn ways to cope." Stef said, pulling him closer to her, feeling his need for physical comfort.

"I wish I could've said _I love you_ one more time to them," he said. "We didn't end on bad terms, but it still feels like I could've said _I love you_ before heading to school that day, y'know?"

Stef nodded, "I know, hun. I wish I would've called them before." She said. The lied in silence for a while before Stef said, "Lena's here with dinner. She brought Chinese food."

David sat up and stretched, "Okay," he said getting up.

What the two didn't know is that Lena was listening outside the door with an sympathetic smile on her face. She loved watching Stef with David. It was something she knew she could look forward to with her love and her children, it was what told her that she had found that person that she was going to spend the rest of her life with and she never had to question it.

* * *

Matt was staring into space thinking about what happened earlier with Rachel thinking that he was going to break up with her because she wasn't pregnant. His knees were bouncing up and down making his stepmom ask the question, "Are you okay?" His knees continued bouncing, "Matt," she said firmly. "Matt," she said waving her hand in front of his face.

"Hm, what?" He said.

"I asked if you were okay." Olivia said, making both Josh and Katie look at him weirdly.

"Yeah, yeah." He said. "I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Katie asked.

"School stuff," he lied not wanting to get into it with his mom.

"Like that senior project that you still need to decide on and start," Josh asked, calling his brother out.

Matt gave him a dirty look, "Yes," he lied again. "That's exactly what I'm thinking about."

Josh shrugged, "I'm just saying, it'd be nice to have Mama talk to you about something else during dinners too." He said.

"I still have like a week and a half to decide." He snapped. "I'll pick something."

Matt went back to eating his food and the three people around the table had confused looks on their faces. It was rare that Matt snapped at his brother. The three thought he'd be relieved about his not becoming a father as a teenager prospect, but something else was bothering him. It didn't take a psychiatrist like Olivia to tell them that, but they dropped it and finished their dinner in a relative silence.

* * *

David didn't know how he ended up here, nor did he really want to know. Here was his head in Stef's lap as she held Lena, the principal's hand was playing the David's medium length hair as they watched a mid-week Padre game on the couch after dinner. This was the safety that David's been craving lately, this is the safety that he's been _needing._

"So, this may sound dumb," Lena asked, "but what does _RBI_ stand for?"

"Runs batted in," the Foster siblings said at the same time.

Lena held back a chuckle at how cute the sister-brother duo were, "And what does that actually men?"

"If a batter gets on base and his teammate that already was on a base scores home, that's a runner that was batted in." David said softly, starting to fall asleep because of the scalp massage.

"It's like extra help to score another point," Stef clarified.

"Oh," Lena said. "Makes sense."

She continued her soft scalp massage that she was giving David, "Oh come on," Stef called out when the pitcher for the Padres threw another bad pitch. David turned on his stomach and buried his face into Stef's lap, "You okay, honey?" Stef then immediately asked. He nodded his head into her legs. She felt the tears through her sweatpants and Lena saw him begin to shake, "David, honey," the police officer said.

"I miss them so much," he said softly as he turned his head to the side looking at the tv. "I miss Dad yelling at the umpires in Padre games and I miss Mom telling him to shut the hell up."

Stef had tears in her eyes, "I miss that too." She said honestly.

Lena continued running her fingers through his hair, "It's been ten years, but it still feels like yesterday since you told me." He said.

"Yeah, it was the first call I ever got called out to on the force," she said honestly.

Lena's eyes went wide, it was rare that Stef talked about her parents, but it was interesting to finally hear about it. A lot could happen in ten years. She knew that Stef came to terms with her sexuality in ten years. She knew that she had worked hard to rank up in the department in ten years. She knew that she raised David from a scared 7 year old boy to an equally scared and now more anxious 17 year old young man. She knew it hadn't been the easiest ten years since their parents died, and she was amazed by the almost bravery that the two showed the world.

David started crying again and Stef took her arm from around Lena and somewhat cradled her brother in her arms. Lena scooted over, giving Stef room to take care of her brother.

"It's okay," Stef whispered into the top of her brother's head. "I got you. Don't stop crying. Let it out." She was rocking him back and forth. He was too big to be cradled like Stef was trying to, but Lena knew that Stef didn't want to leave her brother in a spot where he didn't feel safe.

The principal sat in awe watching her police officer girlfriend comfort her younger brother and she felt like this was a special moment, that she was honored that she got to witness.

* * *

Matt was pacing back and forth in his room at his mama's house the next evening. He was still thinking about what Rachel had said the previous day. He then stopped in his tracks when he heard his mama talking to his mom in the foyer of the house.

"What are you doing here?" Lena asked.

"I'm worried about Matt." She said. "He was acting weird last night at dinner."

"What do you mean?" Lena asked incredulously. "Weird how?"

"I don't know, Lena." Katie said softly. "He just wasn't acting like himself. You think he would be relieved knowing that he didn't throw his entire future away."

"Okay, you _have_ to stop saying stuff like that to the boys." Lena said as they both walked up the stairs towards Matt's room. "That isn't good for them to hear from their mom."

"You know what I mean, Lena." Katie said.

"Yeah, _I_ may know what you mean, doesn't mean the boys do." Lena said

Matt quickly sat at his desk where he had his math homework out already and acted like he was doing homework when Lena knocked on his doorframe. He looked up, "Hey Mama. And, Mom? What are you doing here?" He asked.

Katie shrugged, "You were acting weird at dinner last night." She said. "I was worried about you."

"I was?" He asked.

"Yeah," Katie said, "it's not normal for you to snap at Josh."

Lena's eyebrows raised, that wasn't like the son in front of her, "Are you okay, bubba?" Lena asked him.

Matt looked between his mothers for a moment before sighing, "No," he said softly, throwing his pencil across his desk. "No, I'm not."

"What's wrong?" Katie asked as both she and Lena sat on Matt's bed as the boy turned around in his chair to face them.

"Rachel asked something yesterday after we found out that she wasn't pregnant." He said. "She asked if this would change anything between us and I don't know where that came from. Like am I _that_ bad of a boyfriend for her to think that I was only going to stay with her because she _might've_ been having my child?"

"Oh honey," Lena said softly.

Matt shot up and started pacing again, "I mean, what did I _do_?" He asked. "Did I _do_ something? Hell, _say_ something?" He asked rhetorically.

"Buddy," Katie tried.

"We had a pregnancy scare." Matt went on still pacing. "And she thinks that the _only_ way I'd stay with her is if- is if she _was_ pregnant? What did I _do_?"

Lena got up slowly and stopped Matt in his tracks and pulled him into a tight hug, "Have you talked to her about it?" She asked, still in the hug.

"No," he said, tears filling his eyes. "She wasn't at school today and I don't know if I could face her."

"You have to talk to her, honey." Lena said softly. "You have to know what she's thinking."

"You can't just bottle things up inside," Katie said as the mama and son pulled away from each other. Lena grabbed his face softly. "It isn't good."

"Your mom's right, honey." Lena said. "Just talk to her, I'm sure there was a reason she asked."

Matt sighed and nodded, "Okay." He said.

* * *

Matt took his moms' advice and showed up on Rachel's doorstep with a small bouquet of flowers. Callie opened the door to see the boy standing there, "Hi Matt." She said like she was expecting him to show up.

"Hi Guidance Counselor Sawyer." He said.

"Rachel's in the backyard," she said. "I'm sure she'd love to see you."

Matt walked passed her and through the living room to the backyard, he opened the door, and stepped out. Rachel who had been sitting on the back step looked back, "What- what are you doing here?" She asked.

He gave her the flowers and asked, "Why'd you think I'd break up with you?"

Rachel shrugged, "You had just been so distant before I thought I was pregnant and you didn't really have a reason to stay." She said.

"I-" Matt sighed. "My mama's in this new relationship." Rachel's attention was peaked now because she knew it took a lot for Lena to move on from Katie. "You know that new-ish kid? David Foster?" Rachel nodded, "He lives with his older sister, who's a police officer, and his sister is dating my mama."

"So, you've been distant because you've been worried about your mama?" She asked knowingly.

He nodded, "I've been trying to feel everything out." Matt said. "David, Stef. I don't know. It's just weird to see my mama so goddamn happy. And I've been trying to see if Stef and David are here to stay or if Stef is just here to hurt my mama. It seems like they're here to stay."

"Well, it makes sense. After your mom and Gretchen." Rachel said as Matt wrapped his arm around her.

"I promise not to pull away anymore." Matt said. "I'm sorry that I did."

Rachel looked at him and kissed him, "I love you Matthew Adams-Hudson." She said seriously.

"I love you, Rachel Sawyer." He said seriously back.

* * *

Stef was sitting between Lena and David and across from Josh and Matt at Lena's place a week and a half later. They were all playing a game of monopoly. Matt sat back and watched his mama with Stef and David. He then looked over at Josh who had a smile on his face. He couldn't find himself to be any happier. He and Rachel were not having a baby and were doing fine. His mama was madly in love with Stef Foster. And even though technically he would be their uncle upon his mama and Stef being married, he was gaining another brother.

As David landed on one of Lena's properties in the game, Matt watched the little smile that David gave as he handed over the money. Both the twins knew that he was going through a lot mentally and emotionally, he didn't have to say or do anything to make them know. They saw in the affectionate ways that their mama was with him. How at dinner earlier that evening, he sat next to Stef across from Matt and Josh. Their mama had served him his food even after protests of him being able to get it himself. And as they sat down in the living room to play monopoly, Lena had squeezed David's shoulder before she sat down. They knew their mama was helping her girlfriend take care of David and they couldn't wait for both Stef and David to be a permeant member of their family.

Well, until David made this comment, "You get your senior project proposal in on time?"

Matt rolled his eyes, "Yes," he muttered. Literally two minutes before the deadline."

"What'd you finally decide on?" Josh asked curiously.

"Starting a youth football club for foster kids in the area." He said rolling the dice.

"Oh, that's really cool." Stef said.

"Yeah, still awaiting principal approval though," he said moving his piece.

"It'll be approved for you on Monday." Lena said.

"Cool," Matt said.

"How's your senior project coming along, David?" Lena asked.

"Uhh, alright. I guess. Need to find the motivation to actually continue it." David said, slightly leaning into Stef.

"Your depression in full force still?" Stef asked wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

He nodded, "Yeah." He said softly. "I don't know how to push through it."

"Medication helps me," Josh said.

"You're on antidepressants?" Matt asked.

Josh nodded, "Have been for the last couple of years, Matt." He said.

Lena nodded, "Their stepmom is a child's psychiatrist. She recommended a low dose of zoloft. It seems to help with his depression and anxiety." She offered.

Stef rubbed up and down her brother's arm, "It's something we can look into." The police officer said making David nod.

It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was one that the Foster siblings were willing to try. David stayed curled into Stef for the rest of the night. This felt right to everyone in the room. Felt like the _family_ and _second chance_ that they all needed.


	4. When Love Arrives

**Chapter Four: When Love Arrives**

Lena was sitting in her office when she heard a knock on her door, she looked up to see David standing there, "Hey buddy." Lena said. "What's up?"

"I- I-" David couldn't get words out. He was so anxious that getting words out was the hardest thing to do.

"Hey, hey." Lena said. "What's wrong?"

"Can't- can't _breathe_." He got out. "Can't-"

"Okay," Lena said jumping into action. "Do you want me to call Stef?" He nodded, he needed his big sister right now. "Okay, let me call her." Lena pulled her phone out of the dress pants pocket she was wearing and dialed Stef's number. "Hey honey." She said. "Uh, it's about David. He's having a hard time breathing, he said he needs you." David buried his face into the couch in the fetal position. "He doesn't look good." He started to shake and Lena wrapped her arm around him, "Okay honey, we'll see you in a little bit." Lena hung up and pulled David closer into her, "She'll be here in a little bit." Lena said. "Can I hold you a little better?" David sat up and curled himself into Lena. They sat like that with Lena rubbing her hand up and down his arm until Stef got there. She knocked on the door and Lena called for her to come in, "Hi honey." She said to the off duty police officer.

"Hey love," she said. "Hey bubba."

"Stef," he said.

"Yeah, I'm right here." Stef said sitting on the table in front of them. "What's going on?"

"I- I-" He tried to get out.

"Hey, hey." Stef said, moving to his other side. David curled into Stef and Lena got up to shut and lock the door, so that they could have a little more privacy. "Oh love." Stef said as he whimpered into her. "What can I do?"

"H- h- h- hold me." He stammered.

"Okay," she said. "Anything else?" He shook his head. He just needed for his sister to hold him. Lena sat across from them, giving them space. Stef kissed the top of her brother's head and whispered, "I love you bubba" into it. His breathing evened out and he fell asleep into Stef's arms. Stef looked up at her girlfriend, "I'm sorry," she said. "Things have been getting worse lately."

"Honey, you may have to get him some actual help." Lena said. "We can be there for him as much as he wants, but if we want him to actually be better than we need to get a professional involved."

"I know, I just don't want him to feel like I'm giving up on him." Stef said.

"You wouldn't be babe." Lena said. "I promise. Sometimes professional help is needed in order to get things right." Stef sighed and kissed the top of David's head again. "I meant what I said too, I'm not going anywhere. I'm in this for the long haul."

"I know, but I don't want to put that pressure on you." Stef said.

"You're not, I promise you that." Lena said. "This kid," she gestured to the sleeping David in Stef's arms, "has already made his way far into my heart. I love him and I _knew_ he came with the package of being with you. And I know my boys have done the same exact thing to you."

Stef nodded, "They really have." She said. The police officer then sighed, "Okay, but I honestly don't want him going to your ex's wife. It wouldn't make me comfortable."

Lena nodded in agreement, "I understand." She said. "I'll talk with his guidance counselor, see what resources she has. She kind of already knows about us and the situation with David."

"Okay," Stef said. "Thank you love."

"Of course babe," Lena said. "I love you."

"I love you too." Stef said as Lena came and sat down next to her.

* * *

David was sitting on the couch at Lena's later that afternoon. Stef and Lena were in the kitchen making dinner. The boy was curled into a ball staring off into space. Stef checked him out of school for the rest of the day and Lena took the rest of it off. They had been taking care of him and talking about him going to therapy and potentially taking medication.

David and Josh walked in from school. Josh walked straight into the basement to start doing homework. Matt saw David lying on the couch staring into space.

"Hey," Matt said sitting in the recliner next to the couch David was lying on. "You okay?"

David shook his head, "Bad day." He said. "My sister checked me out at the end of lunch."

"I'm sorry to hear that, David." Matt said honestly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You don't have to do that, Matt." David said honestly.

"I know, but the offer still stands." He said. "We're all here for you, bro. Don't push us all away."

"I just don't want you and Josh to end up hating me because your mama is helping my sister take care of me." David said. "She's your mama first."

"We still got her, don't worry man." Matt said. "She's still the best mama in the world, trust me."

"How are you even remotely okay with this?" David asked.

"Because I know the love my mama gives and it seems like you need it right now." Matt said honestly.

"Your mama makes me feel safe," David said. "Safer than I've ever felt in a long time."

"Yeah," Matt said looking at his mama preparing dinner with Stef in the kitchen. "She has the affect on people." He then looked back over at David, "She loves you man. She gets _super_ protective of you and it's nice to have you and Stef around all the time."

"Thanks Matt." David said.

"Alright, I'm gonna go do homework now, but after dinner, let's play video games or something, yeah?" Matt said getting up.

David nodded, "For sure." He said.

* * *

That night Stef was sitting with her arm around Lena, they were sitting in the backyard enjoying the sounds of a late fall evening. Lena had her face buried in Stef's neck. Stef kissed the top of Lena's head, "You okay, love?" The police officer asked. Lena nodded her head, but Stef didn't believe her. "Love," she whispered making Lena sigh.

"You never really talk about your parents," Lena said. "Like I know they're gone, but like, what were they like?"

"They weren't necessarily the easiest people to be around," Stef said. "They loved me and David, but they had weird ways of showing it. Like working all the time. My dad was a police officer as well. We actually worked at the same precinct for a few weeks."

"What did your mom do?" Lena asked.

"She was a strategic analyst at some big corporation in San Diego." Stef said. "They had me early on in their marriage and David was somewhat a surprise 17 years ago."

"They were involved in an accident?" Lena asked.

Stef nodded, "It was my first night shift in my career. My partner and I were being stereotypical cops. Drinking coffee and eating donuts. And we heard there was an accident and we were one of the first ones on the scene and I recognized the car." Stef took a deep breath and started playing with Lena's hair. "And I thought it was just a coincidence that the car was the same as my parents' car. But then-" Stef swallowed remembering, "I saw the people in the car and when I saw that they were my parents, I froze. I couldn't move. My partner asked me what was wrong and I managed to get out that those people were my parents and he called for backup, not wanting me to have to deal with it. They were t-boned pretty hard by a distracted teenage driver. My mom was killed instantly and my dad died later that night in the hospital."

Lena had tears in her eyes listening to the story, "And _you_ had to tell David?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Stef nodded. "Everyone knew that I could tell him the best. I took guardianship over him immediately."

"You're really good with him," Lena stated.

"We've had our ups and downs in the last ten years, but it isn't something I'd trade for the world." Stef said. "And you're good with him too. He feels safe with you."

"I've had a good amount of practice being a mom and an educator." Lena said with a shrug.

"He doesn't open up to anyone, besides me, like he opens up to you, love." Stef said. "Please don't brush it off like it's nothing because it isn't. All my other girlfriends tried to get him to where you have and you did it in a matter of a month."

"I love that kid," Lena said softly. "He has a lot to offer the world."

"I love you, Lena." Stef said. "More than I'll ever be able to understand."

Lena leaned in and kissed her before resting her forehead on Stef's, "I love you, Stef." She whispered.

"You're my everything." Stef said. "I don't want anyone else."

"You're _my_ everything and I just want _you._ " Lena said kissing her again, placing her hand's on Stef's face.

Stef looked at her watch and realized how late it was getting, "I should get David home," she said reluctantly.

"Stay the night," Lena said, wanting to be close after Stef shared that story of her parents.

"Are- are you sure?" Stef asked.

"We have an extra room for David and I wanna wake up next to you." Lena said. "Hell, move in if you and David want. You're here enough and I hate that he eats alone when you're at work late and he feels like he'd be an interruption to me and the boys."

"I think we should talk to all the boys about it and see where they're at." Stef said. "I don't want to rush things with them."

"You're right," Lena said. "But just for tonight, stay here. I want you close tonight."

Stef nodded, "Okay." She said. "I should go get David and change of clothes and my uniform for tomorrow then."

"Okay." Lena said kissing her while straddling the police officer.

* * *

Later that night, Stef walked into the guest room where David was sitting on the bed looking at his phone. "Hey buddy." She said.

"Hey Stef," he said locking his phone and putting it on the charger on the nightstand.

"You're okay with this, right?" Stef asked.

He nodded, "We're over here practically every night if Lena isn't at our place now." He said. "It's only the natural progression." He shrugged.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that." Stef said hesitantly. "Lena asked me for us to move in tonight."

"Okay," David responded like he already knew.

"How do you feel about that?" Stef asked.

"I mean, does this mean that our Sunday breakfasts at that diner is off of the table, just the two of us?" He asked.

"No, no, nothing like that is going to change." Stef said.

"Then, I don't care really." He said. "Lena makes me feel _safe_ , Stef. I'm down for whatever at this point."

Stef sat next to him and pulled him into her side, he curled more into her. She kissed his forehead and asked, "How'd you feel about me asking Lena to marry me?"

"You haven't done that already?" David joked.

Stef smiled and cuddled with her brother for a little while.

* * *

Lena was talking to her boys as well. She wanted to make sure they felt okay with the way everything was progressing. They were down in Josh's room. Lena and Matt were sitting on Josh's bed and Josh was sitting at his desk.

"What's going on, Mama?" Josh asked concerned.

"Yeah," Matt said. "Last time you asked to talk to us you were telling us you and Mom were getting a divorce." Then it hit him, "Wait, are you and Stef breaking up? No, wait, are you sick?"

"We're fine and I'm fine, honey." Lena assured Matt. "I just want to make sure that this relationship I have with Stef is progressing okay for you two." The boys looked at each other and then their mama confused. "I asked Stef and David to move in tonight and I just want to make sure that it's okay. Stef said they aren't moving in until I get the okay from you two and she gets the okay from David."

"Oh," both the boys said.

"I'm definitely okay with it," Matt said first.

"Yeah, for sure." Josh said. "I'm okay with it."

Lena spread her arms to hug both of her boys, she laid back to hold them, "You really love her, don't you, Mama?" Josh asked suddenly.

"I do," Lena said. "I haven't loved anyone this much since your mom."

"You think you'd marry her?" Matt asked.

Lena nodded, "I would. In a heartbeat." She said.

"We're really happy for you, mama." Josh said. "And we really like Stef and David."

"We do," Matt said. "We were a little hesitant at first, but we really do like them."

"Also, don't feel bad when you want to love on David like you do us," Josh said. "Because we understand that he needs a lot of love right now. And we know you have a lot of love to give."

Lena smiled at her boys and kissed both of their foreheads, she knew that the divorce wasn't easy for them, but she loved that her boys were so accepting of not only Stef, but David as well.

* * *

The next morning, Stef woke up to Lena curled into her. The principal was already awake and enjoying the silence and the rhythm of Stef's heartbeat.

"I could get used to waking up like this," Stef said, voice still deep with sleep.

Lena hummed, "Me too," she said, kissing Stef good morning. "My boys are on board with it."

"So is David." Stef said.

"So, this means we can get you two in here as soon as possible?" Lena said.

Stef nodded, "We're on a month-to-month lease commitment with the apartment," Stef said. "So we can move out at the end of the month and move in here."

Lena straddled Stef, "Yeah?" She said as she leaned down to kiss Stef's neck.

Stef moaned at the kisses being placed on her neck, "Yeah," the police officer got out. She moaned again when Lena added a tongue to her kisses. "Fuck, babe." Stef got out as Lena was turning her on.

Lena moaned, "The kids are still asleep," she said. "We have time."

Stef kissed Lena hard and rolled them over, making Lena squeal a little.

* * *

At breakfast about an hour later, Lena was back in full mama bear mode in taking care of not just her boys, but David as well.

"You feeling better today?" Lena asked David.

He nodded his head, "I'll make it all the way through school today, promise." David said.

"Well, my office door is always open if you need someone to talk you down," Lena said.

"Yeah," Matt said, "why don't you hang out with one of us during lunch too?" Josh nodded in agreement. "I mean, Mama's cool and all, but we're probably more fun to hang out with."

"I mean, your friends wouldn't mind?" David asked.

"Even if they do," Josh said, "we got your back. My friends probably would be a little more accepting than Matt's, but it'd be cool to hang with you at school."

"I mean, _okay._ " David said.

Lena smiled as Stef walked in wearing her uniform, the principal handed the police officer breakfast and coffee to go.

"Thanks love," Stef accepted the coffee and breakfast and gave her a kiss.

"Have a good day," Lena whispered as she kissed her again.

"You too, love." Stef said before turning to the three teenagers, specifically David. "Have a good day, loves." She said to them.

"You too," the twins mumbled back.

Stef then stopped behind David, "Text me if you need me today, okay?" She said quietly and he nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too, Stef." He said as she hugged him from behind and kissed his forehead. "Have a good day."

"You too, bubba." She said walking out of the house, feeling more in love with her life than ever before.


	5. Home Is Where The Heart Is

**Chapter Five: Home Is Where The Heart Is**

Stef was packing some boxes when she heard the door slam, "David?" She called out.

"What?" He snapped.

Stef got up curiously because it was rare that he ever snapped at anyone let alone the sister who has basically raised him. She saw him walk into his room and slam his door behind him. Stef's eyebrows raised and she walked over to the door and lightly knocked, "David, buddy," she tried.

"Go away, Stef." He said.

"I can't do that buddy," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He snapped again on the verge of tears.

"It's not nothing, love." She said _trying_ to reach out to her brother.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"Did something happen at therapy, love?" Stef asked knowing he just came from there.

"I _said_ I didn't want to talk about it." He said.

"Well, _I_ want to talk about it." Stef said. "And when Lena gets here in a little while, she's gonna wanna talk about it too."

The door slowly opened, "Using Lena as leverage to get what you want is cruel." He said, somewhat jokingly, with his tear-stained face.

Stef shrugged, "You know it's the truth, bub." She said.

"Therapy was just hard today," he said. "I just want this overwhelming feeling of panic to stop."

"I'm sure you do, honey." Stef said. They started therapy for David a couple of weeks before. Both Stef and Lena went with him to his first meeting and have been there every step of the way. He even started medication earlier that week and Stef imagined his body was adjusting to the new medication. There was a sudden knock on the door, "That must be Lena," the police officer said. "She comes baring pizza. Or so I hope."

Stef went to the door and opened it to see her girlfriend and her girlfriend's sons standing there with pizza, ready to help the Foster siblings pack the apartment.

"I brought the extra help so that we can get you _home_ faster." Lena said softly.

"I like the sound of that." Stef said. "You think you could go talk to David? He had a rough therapy session and I think his body is still adjusting to the medication."

"Of course." Lena said kissing her as she handed her the pizza and walking passed her. "Start eating. I know Matt is starving." She called over her shoulder.

Stef gave Matt a look, "What?" The teenager said. "I'm _always_ hungry, Stef." He shrugged.

Stef chuckled, "Same, actually." She agreed.

Josh saw that Lena had gone into David's room and shut the door, "So, we're dying to know, are you proposing to our mama any time soon?" He asked.

"Yeah," Matt said. "We're wanting you and David to be an even more permanent fixture in our lives."

Stef smiled, "Within the next few months, I promise." She said. "Just need to finish the payments on the ring."

* * *

Lena was sitting on David's desk chair as he sat on the bed looking at her, "Stef says you had a rough therapy session?" He nodded. "What was so rough about it?"

"I'm not sure if I want to leave Stef next fall." He said. "It makes me nervous."

"There are two universities here in San Diego that you can apply to. UCSD has a good art program." Lena said, trying to let him know that he didn't have to leave San Diego for school.

"With us moving in, would that be a problem?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked softly.

"I'm sure you'd want the house to yourself and Stef once we all graduate." David said.

"I mean, Josh is hoping to go to MIT and Matt is hoping for a chance at UCLA." Lena said. "But, I don't mind if you stay and go to a San Diego school."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

Lena nodded, "Positive." She said. "If this were one of my boys, I'd be in the same boat."

David sighed and laid back, "I'm sorry that I need Stef a lot." He said.

"She has been your home for so long," Lena said, "and if you're not ready for her to not be it, then I want you to feel like you can succeed enough. I hope you know that I love you and I want the best for you."

"I love you too, Lena." He said. "Thank you for always being so understanding."

Lena laid on the space of his bed that was empty and looked over at him, "You're gonna be okay, babe." She said. "And Stef and I will be here for you through everything." David scooted over to curl into Lena and the principal pulled him closer and kissed the top of his head, "How're you feeling with the medication so far?" She asked.

"Okay, I guess." He said. "I feel groggy sometimes, but I've been told that's normal, so I'll take it I guess."

Lena kissed the top of his head again and placed her chin on top of his head as he buried his face into her neck. Lena could get used to this. Him trusting her enough to be in the vulnerable position.

* * *

The five of them were sitting on the ground amongst boxes around boxes of pizza, "How was everyone's day?" Stef asked casually.

"Good," the twins mumbled through full mouths of pizza.

"It wasn't too bad," Lena said.

"How about yours, buddy?" Stef asked David.

"It was alright." The boy said, leaning against a stack of boxes.

"How was yours, love?" Lena asked Stef.

"Productive," Stef said. "Got a lot of these boxes packed."

Lena placed her hand on Stef's knee, "The place is basically packed." She said.

"It is, expect my and David's rooms." She said, lifting her arm up for Lena to come into.

"I don't have much to pack and take a part," David said. "So I can do mine solo."

"I mean, we're here to help," Matt said with a shrug.

"Yeah," Josh said. "It's either that or do most of the work in Stef's room while these two make out."

"Rude," Lena said playfully.

"Only because it's the truth." Josh playfully said back.

"I mean," David said, "I really don't need the help, but if you two want to avoid watching your mom make out with my sister, then sure."

"We want to get to know you better dude." Matt said. "We're happy to help."

"Okay," he said taking a small bite of pizza.

* * *

Matt was helping David disassemble his bed and was trying to hold a conversation. "You okay?" Matt finally asked.

David looked up confused, "Yeah, I'm okay." He said. "Just tired. These meds are messing with me."

"I remember the first two months I was on medication," Josh said folding David's clothes and putting them in a duffle bag. "It was honestly the worst. I was more anxious and more depressed. Sometimes you need to try different meds and different doses to get what's right for you."

"I just wish that there was some sort of test that tell you what medication will work for you and what dosage will too." David said. "I just wanna feel _normal_ again."

"Yeah, I know." Josh said. "It gets better though."

"How did I not know you were on antidepressants?" Matt asked Josh. "You're my twin."

"Moms didn't want me to feel embarrassed by it, so they never really bring it up when other people are around." Josh said with a shrug.

"I'm still your twin." Matt said. "You don't trust me enough?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, Matt." He said. "It's that I didn't know how you'd react. You already have to keep the bullies away at school."

"Which is my right as your brother," he said.

"You know mama would be pissed if you actually did something," he said. "In fact, she was when you even had the thought."

"I'm just protective of my family," Matt said. "And I had some sort of right to know that you were on medication. What if something happened to you and one of the moms wasn't around to help, huh? I should know that you're on antidepressants."

The room got quiet as Josh processed the information, he never thought of it like that.

"I'm sorry," Josh said. "You're right. You should've known."

David then decided to change the subject, "So, umm, Matt, your mama said you're trying to get into UCLA?"

Matt looked grateful over at David, "Yeah, it's looking more and more likely." He said. "Have you thought about anywhere? I haven't heard Stef say much about your collegiate future."

David shrugged, "I think I'm going to just stay here in San Diego. Your mama said that UCSD has a good art program," he said. "Going to look into applying within the next week."

"That's really cool," Josh said. "You wanna study art?"

David nodded, "More than likely, animation," he said.

"So cool," the twins said at the same time.

David smiled, he didn't know what it was like to grow up with a sibling around his age, but he could get used to Josh and Matt, even if he would technically be their uncle when his sister married their mama.

* * *

A few days later, Stef and David were standing in their now empty apartment, so many memories were held here. This was Stef's first apartment out of the academy. This was the apartment she brought David home to after their parents died. This was the place where Stef came to terms with her sexuality and where David went through puberty. This was the place that the two of them called home. Stef and David's deepest conversations typically happened late on a Friday night in the living room. Stef fell in love with Lena over text messages and late night conversations here. They were taking a moment by themselves to really just take everything in.

"I'm going to miss this place," David said suddenly.

"Me too," Stef said, "but I think it's best to move forward, yes?" David nodded as Stef wrapped a loose arm around his shoulders, "I'll never forget this place."

"I'll never forget that first night I came here to stay for good," David said. "You put me on the couch for the night and said you'd clear out the spare bedroom later. I ended up in your bed that night because I didn't understand that Mom and Dad were gone. I didn't understand what that meant."

Stef nodded, remembering that night, it was the hardest night of her life. Both her and her brother's parents were gone. Her, then, 7-year-old brother was so unbelievably terrified at what the future held, and if Stef was completely honest, she was too.

"I know I wasn't the greatest that first year," Stef said, "and I know around the anniversary is always hard for us, but I'm going to try to be better. For you, for us."

David nodded, "Thank you for all that you do for me," he said. "I know you'd probably would be better off if I wasn't around, but I see what you do for me and I don't ever want to take that for granted."

Dyed rubbed up and down on his arm, "I wouldn't be better off without you, love." Stef said. "In fact, I wouldn't be half the person I am today without you." She kissed his cheek and he shied away, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said. "We better get out of here and give the keys to the landlord."

He got out of her embrace, but she caught his hand and pulled him back, "Baby, talk to me." She said. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just tired," he said. "Physically and emotionally."

"Okay," the police officer pulled her brother in for a hug. She felt him sink into her embrace, she kissed the top of his head. "I love you bubba."

David smiled, "I love you too, Stef." He mumbled.

* * *

Stef and David's first official night in the Adams residence was a quiet one. David spent most of the time assembling his bed, desk, and unpacking while listening to music. Needing to be alone to process some things, he had the door shut. Stef stood outside his door debating about whether or not she should check on him. Lena came up the stairs and saw her girlfriend standing in front of David's door, "He's processing a lot," the principal said.

"Like?" Stef asked softly.

"He's not sure if he's ready to leave you next fall," Lena said. "You've been his home for so long. You were there when your guys' parents died. You were there for him when no one else was. He's scared of leaving you."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for him to leave next fall either." Stef said honestly.

Lena smiled and put her arms around Stef's neck, the police officer put her arms around the principal's waist, "I told him that UCSD has a good art program." She said. "I even told him that he could stay here at home while he went."

Stef smiled so big that tears developed in her eyes. Lena had so willingly just accepted David as a part of this love package that Stef brought to the table. So did Matt and Josh. They finally felt at home for the first time in a long time.

"And you're really okay with that?" Stef asked. "Him living here while he goes to college?"

Lena nodded, "Absolutely. If he isn't ready for you not to be his home quite yet, then I want him to feel as safe and comfortable as possible." She said.

"Should- should I check on him?" Stef asked.

"Well, dinner is ready, so check in with him and get him down for our first dinner as a family." Lena said kissing Stef before headed downstairs.

Stef took a deep breath and then knocked on his door, "Yeah," was heard from the other side.

The older sister opened the door and said, "Hey love, everything okay in here?" She then looked around and saw that all of his furniture is assembled and most of his boxes were unpacked. She then saw David setting up his desk.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Dinner ready?"

Stef nodded, "Yeah," she said. "Looks like Lena made our favorite food to welcome us home."

"Homemade mac and cheese?" He asked hopefully, not looking up from what he was doing on the desk.

"Yeah," the police officer said. "I told her that we always liked it and she wanted it to be a special dinner tonight."

"Cool," he said. "I'll be down in a sec. I just want to finish this," he said looking up and gesturing to the desk.

"Okay," she said. "You good though?"

He had looked back down, but he looked up at his sister and nodded, "I'm good. We still on for breakfast tomorrow?" He asked.

Stef nodded, "Of course," she said. "Our Sunday morning tradition will _always_ be in place."

"Cool," he said. "Just give a sec and I'll be down, okay?"

Stef nodded and started walking out of the room, she lingered at the door for a moment, looked back at her brother who was organizing everything on his desk, she couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong, but she didn't want to smother him because she knew that he would shutdown. She knew when her not-so-little brother needed the love that he would come to her.

As Stef walked out of the room, she ran into Matt, "Oh hey," the boy said. "Dinner ready?"

The police officer nodded, "Sounds like it." She said.

"Awesome," he said as they both started to walk downstairs. "I like that you and David are here full time now," he added on their way down. "The house feels complete."

Stef smiled and wrapped a loose arm around his neck, "We're really happy to be here, buddy." She said.

The two walked into the kitchen where Lena was standing there with Josh and Katie, someone who Stef had yet to meet, she took her arm back from Matt's lower back as the boy said, "Mom?"

"Hi bud," the doctor said. "I need to talk to you and your brother."

"Is it gonna be long?" Matt asked. "Mama made her homemade mac and cheese tonight and we all know how much I love that."

"I'll save you both a plate," Lena said, her voice full of a bunch of mixed emotions. "You three can go out back."

"Okay," Katie said before looking over at Stef. "You must be Stef." She said softly, the blonde nodded. "I'm Katie."

The doctor reached her hand out to shake the police officer's, Stef shook Katie's hand, the exchanged some civil pleasantries and the two boys were off into the backyard with their mom, "You okay love?" Stef then asked her girlfriend.

"She's sick." Lena said softly.

Stef's eyes widened, thinking about what that means and what it's going to mean for Matt and Josh when they find out and what it means for Lena, who still cared deeply for the other mother of her children. The police officer came from behind the principal who had turned her back and was watching out the kitchen window as she saw her ex explain to their children the news that no one wanted to hear, Stef held Lena from behind, putting her chin on the woman's shoulder. She faintly heard David's footsteps coming down the stairs, but didn't pay much attention as she felt her love shake, indicating that she was crying.

* * *

"What's going on?" Matt asked, somewhat annoyed that his mom was at his mama's on a day that wasn't hers. He always tried to keep the life he lived in each home separate from each other. It was his way of protecting his mama and twin and keeping the peace within the family.

"I'm sick." Katie said softly. Matt's face softened at the revelation. "Really sick."

"C-cancer sick?" Josh asked softly.

Katie nodded, "Lymphoma." She said. "I just got the results back today."

Matt's face fell a little, suddenly regretting his annoyance, "How long have you known?" The boy asked.

Katie visibly swallowed, "A few days. Olivia and I have been trying to process the news. You might be spending more time here." The doctor said.

Matt and Josh were trying to process this. Their mom, _the doctor_ , was sick from a disease that nobody was sure she was going to beat and now they aren't going to be spending much time with her?

"Why?" Matt asked, tears dwelling in his eyes. "You're dying and we can't spend as much time with you?"

"We kind of figured that you would want that," Katie said. "And now with me being busy with chemo and whatnot, it'd probably be better this way."

"Why would we want to spend more time here knowing that you're basically dying?" Josh asked, Matt nodded in agreement.

"You two don't seem like you even want to be at my and Olivia's place anyway." Katie argued.

"That's just because you set really high expectations on us," Matt said, his voice was shaky. "That doesn't mean that we don't love you or Olivia."

Josh nodded, "And I'll be damned if you die and we weren't around for it." The boy said, his athletic twin brother nodding in agreement.

"Okay," Katie said as she looked into the kitchen window to see Lena fighting all of the emotions of this.

* * *

What should've been a celebratory dinner was a quiet one after the twins came in and Katie left. Stef had briefly filled David in when he came into the kitchen, but the Adams' sitting at the table were more pushing the food around their plates than actually eating. Stef had her hand on Lena's knee. The principal still really emotional. The police officer then looked at the two Adams-Hudson boys, trying to wrap their heads around the news they just heard. Stef then looked next to her and saw David engrossed in his food, this is the most she had seen her brother eat in a good while.

It was the Foster siblings' first night in the Adams residence, or as Lena now firmly calls it the _Adams Foster_ residence, it wasn't what anyone would have liked to be Stef and David's first night _home_ , but the two siblings were glad to be of service to Lena, Matt, and Josh in this confusing time.

* * *

 **Quick A/n (I don't like these, so I won't be putting much of them in here):** I won't be going into Katie's illness much. I'll go into how Matt and Josh are doing emotionally, but won't be going into detail of the illness.


End file.
